Falcor! (Moe)

F

No One Can Say It Better

When I heard the news that some of the elders in the Black movement were going to to make a stand about the most recent injustice relating to a young African American male’s wrongful death by law enforcement, I sighed.

How I wish I could have been there on the Brooklyn Bridge with these seasoned veterans of resistance. This is, by exception, something that I would risk my squeeky clean legal record for. I too, would be cuffed to influence the story that echoes in the corridors of history. The ongoing movement can be found all over the internet. Just do a search to find historic videos showing stammering solidarity actions and momentum. The movement is youthful, creative, skilled and full of energy.

The racist shooting of Sean Bell accentuates the ongoing battle in the streets, and without any kind of consequence to those who killed him?

I want to encourage, incite! In this struggle for justice, we need to step outside of our comfort zone and resist!

But, as we can well assume, no one can say it better than long time death row inmate and award winning journalist, Mumia Abu Jamal, in his radio essay entitled, Sean Bell’s Second Slaying

It was a classic ‘Only in America’ moment.

The bench trial of three killer cops in New York City, charged with firing some 50 shots into a car, killing one man, Sean Bell, and wounding two others (all unarmed).

The case rushed across America, spreading outrage in each city.

Initially, the cops moved to have the trial transferred to a site upstate, to the rural, northern tiers. This motion denied, they opted for a bench trial (or trial by a single judge), not trusting their fates to a so-called jury of”citizens” they are sworn to serve and protect.

Time, it seems, has proven that they made the right decision — for, predictably, the judge acquitted them of all charges, arguing that the witnesses gave conflicting testimony.

By so doing, the court essentially ruled that Bell’s killing was justified; no crime was committed.

The defense utilized the “bad company” argument: that Bell was shot and killed because he was among “the wrong crowd.”

That such an argument swayed Supreme Court justice Arthur Cooperman (in New York state, unlike most other states, the trial court is termed the Supreme Court, and the state’s highest court is their Court of Appeals.) is a measure of how devalued Black life is, and how easy Black men are to demonize and disparage.

If none of the cops knew the men, what does it matter what their backgrounds were? They could’ve been lawyers, basketball stars, or — cops.

That they were Black men — even unarmed Black men — was deemed sufficient to unload on them, because in America, their color was crime enough.

So, 22 year old Sean Bell joins Amadou Diallo, and others guilty of the capital offense of WWB- Walking While Black.

And while millions of Black and white Americans thrill at political illusions of “post-racialism”, Sean Bell’s case proves how deeply deadly race can still be.

Even rumors of a weapon were enough to unleash 50 shots — or should we say “alleged rumors”, for there were no guns found in Bell’s car. In the past, wallets, candy bars, keys, and packs of cigarettes were deemed sufficient to provoke such malicious responses.

Now, nothing is required.

Sean Bell was shot to death, and his friends, Joseph Guzman and Trent Benerfield were seriously wounded.

Shot and killed for being ‘the wrong crowd.’

Thanks Mumia. Here’s a video of the news from last nite as aired in NYC.

Klamath Resistance in Omaha

The courageous and persistent folks in the video below traveled to Omaha to protest PacifiCorp’s corporate parent Berkeshire Hathaway (Warren Buffet’s giant investment firm) involvement in the destruction of the Klamath River. I can only hope to work in solidarity with these amazing warriors for justice. This is a fight for life. All Power to the People!Check out their Website!

Three cheers for the Indigenous Power to the People Project, who worked with this group, the legal strategists and campaigning from the Riverkeeper, the Department of Natural Resources for the Karuk Tribal Government and Karuk tribal members, the Yurok Tribe and tribal members, the Hoopa Tribe and Hoopa tribal members, and the myriad of river folks who dedicate their lives to this critical issue. The Klamath Salmon Media Collaborative should receive deep credit for their ongoing work on video and audio documentation of activities like these plus the life and times of people along the Klamath River.
All Power to the People!

PL Bankruptcy and Mendicino Redwood Company

Well folks, for better and worse I had the opportunity to accompany MRC foresters out into their property in Mendo this week. I was there to take a look at their mgmt practices, examine their treatment of their employees and get a feel for the state of their forest lands.

Is it ironic or scary that the day I was out there, Maxxam and MRC were busy deal making on the fate of the land here in Humboldt. Okay yeah, we are involved in an historic bankruptcy legal process, and yeah, the court ordered mediation did not go anywhere between Marathon and Beal. So now the deal is that the closed door meetings between these dudes are going to actually make the decision? Mike Jenai failed to mention that, while we were in the suburban together for hours.

The Palco-Marathon-MRC deal comes up with a bunch more cash on hands for the deal to look better to the noteholders. Gulp. Now Harvard is getting involved!? Jesus how many folks want a piece of this!

I suppose its worth mentioning as well that the recent coverage in the local papers about this most recent saga is deplorable. The consistent mentioning of JBH (Julia Butterfly Hill) as the sole contender in the resistance against PL is deplorable. Not to mention that JBH didn’t campaign for an end to clear cutting. To my knowledge, the only thing she campaigned for was her tree Luna. In honor of David Gypsy Chain, and all of the others who have given their lives for this shit, one would think we could do a little better.

Clearly to give a real analysis on how these guys (MRC) manage these lands, I’ve got to start by looking at how the land was when they bought it, and who/how they spend the money. Clearly it would be in their interest to explain to my little audience here on justice_through_jostle that the MRC are all peachy ecogroovy, and that their logged and treated forest lands look like wildlife sanctuaries. Yeah right.

That said, the worse thing they do right now, in my opinion , is their so called “frilling” or hack and squirt herbicide application on the tan oaks. True they do leave the madrones alone, also true that they leave whole areas of their forest lands alone, permanantly protected as long as they are at the healm. (hmm) What about fire!?!

True that their foresters seem more engaging than say (ahem) PL, SPI folks, or for that matter Simpson ((Green Diamond)) foresters. They dont decorate the bears with the flashy collars and ear rings that Green Diamond do, as far as I could tell from meeting one of their wildlife guys. Their logging practices are varied, and they are religiously FSC, if that means anything.

They took us into one area of their property, but offered to show us other areas if we requested to see them. It was hammered. There is a reserve that looks beautiful, although it’s dominated by douglas firs and needs a little fire to enliven the seed trees and take some of the fuel load out of there. (it seems to me) There were of course beautiful trees, flowers, bugs, spider holes, creeks, rocks and all that. I din’t see a single really old redwood tree. The MRC guys liked to remind us that LP and all those guys did all the bad stuff and that MRC is trying to recover from the liquidation years of reckless logging.

Their priority to make all conifer dominated hill sides is really depressing. In fact, the whole notion that there would be no mention of fire, traditional native land management techniques or anything by their area forester really stung me of my ignorance of private lands timber barons. Their reliance on monochromatic logic for alternatives slows down their ability to actually do things different. They are stuck in white folks mentality, as far as I can see. Judging from their website, this plagues them in a pretty deep way.

Sure, they will do a better job than Hurwitz. i am compelled to stand behind EPIC’s and Mike Thompson’s vote of confidence. Geez. what a weird feeling. At least MRC will be an easier-going adversary. They will likely also improve some things around soHum, at least in the sense that they will be going for the FSC certification. I suppose it helps that the VP Forest guy sits on the policy making committee for FSC, and the international board of directors for the group.

In a broader view, the lack of analysis and holistic thought about land management can be tied to the only thing holding them back from becoming cool. They are driven by profit.

As long as that’s the case, and with expected changes in the FSC funding mechanism, and how fees incurred by resellers of FSC products could gut the program, I wonder if FSC certification will really be worth the effort by the time the PL land comes into their possession.

I wonder what will happen. I am very skeptical, but sure as shit not going to support the empty promises of the Nature Conservancy. Did you know that the only way the TNC folks could have even a sliver of success is if they push the land to auction? To auction off these lands could result in a checkerboard ownership and mean really harsh logging with no insurance to the hundreds of workers at the mills and in the field. damn. TNC is harsh and I dont think I like them. I think they are wistful and perhaps on the level with the corporate business analysts, but not nearly as motivated. Im sure there are good folks from TNC. I am critical of their approach and do not like the way they are pushing people around in the process. Maybe I am missing something.

Well, I suppose it doesnt matter what the heck I think, cuz Hurwitz and Gap® model Sandy Dean are sitting down with their various monied buddies and cutting some kind of deal.

Wonder what they eat in those situations. Do you think they snack on cold cuts like the ones we ate off the back of the MRC truck out there near Russell Brook? Steaks and potatoes? Chicken wraps? Salmon? My guess is that an awful lot of $$ goes into fancy dinners, especially considering people are there dealing with supposed bankruptcy. My guess is that most of the folks negotiating this deal couldn’t distinguish an humboldt acorn from an American Chesnut.

A Few Things to Report

Well, the days have slipped by quickly since my last post. I am inclined to include a link to the Save our Salmon blog. I haven’t seen the giant fish yet, but I appreciate their ongoing efforts, and someone bought me a bottle opener shaped like a salmon from their Un-dam the snake river campaign.
In other news, the Tibetan solidarity activists that took the bridge over a week ago now were covered on so many media forms it’s difficult to imagine a more successful action. All of the charges that the bridge climbers and their supporters will be dismissed once they complete 25 hours of community service and pay minimal fines. Front page of the NYtimes, front page SF Chronicle, countless tv interviews, the dynamic duo story in the Marin paper, the many frontpage images on dailies across the US…whoa. Ah yes, not to forget the live CNN international, and the page and a half photo in Time.
Great job.

Clearly that saga will continue. One lesser known story that I heard about was when some of the more athletic activists were able to find and keep up to the infamous re-routed torch, and stage a blockade which landed some friends on the front page of the USA Today Wednesday morning. The five folks who sat in front of the procession were physically tossed out of the path of the torchbearers by the police. Apparently many people involved in the Tibetan solidarity, including Tibetans living in the US are experiencing varying levels of harassment from unknown perpetrators with access to their emails and phone numbers. The situation in Tibet, of course,
Speaking of Humboldt, is anyone paying attention to the Pacific Lumber Bankruptcy confirmation hearings? Sounds like the judge spanked PL a bit, by ordering mediation between MRC/Marathon, Beal Bank reps and the Noteholders, but not opening the doors to more PL involvement. Finally, maybe someone can host a Hurwitz out of Humboldt party someday. I suppose the irreverent symbol of Hurwitz may well be replaced by the Fisher Family’s gap puppets, or worse yet marketing pundit Andy Beal–another Texan. I write this posting on Earth Day. After the flight I took last week over the PL lands, I am hardly feeling like celebrating.
While all of these official proceedings are going on down in Corpus Christi, 10 THP’s (timber harvest plans) will likely be pushed through the minimal CalFire process. Great, more forests slated for destruction. The images of destroyed forest above Southern Humboldt are truly devastating.

chinook

chinook

Originally uploaded by justicethroughjostle

testing the water to see what i can post here

one example

Here’s an example of what I am talking about with regards to PL’s bad land management. The industrial foreslands in Humboldt County look like this in most areas. There are three fresh clearcuts in this image, and you can notice the even aged management. This type of logging negates an interconnected living ecosystem, and turns wild places into plots of poorly landscaped tree plantations.

Fire and Forests: More Logging Scams

Today I feel lucky enough to travel upriver on the Klamath all the way to Happy Camp, where I will be joining others to hike through burned forests threatened by USForest Service logging plans.

Check out KS WIld’s page on the subject here.

I will post some images when I get back.

Murat Kernaz a reminder of whats going on

Okay you all can call me an issue jumper, but this story needs to be remembered. For some reason wordpress is not letting me embed the video so here’s the link to his interview on 60 minutes.The depictions of torture of this innocent man through his account here, on 60 minutes, is only a hint of what he describes in his book, “Five Years of My LIfe”. What the hell do we do about it?

Read a Real Report

Check out this great, real time report of the ongoing PL Bankruptcy Confirmation Hearing David Simpson’s Blog.
Thanks to the commenter for this lead!
Now Y’all can get the real scoop.

PL Bankruptcy and Andy Beal

Well, I guess it’s all public now that Andy Beal, under the auspices of the Scotia-Redwood Foundation, made a $603 million dollar offer to encourage the note holders to push for an auction in the ongoing saga of PL’s Bankruptcy hearings.

Andy Beal, ahem, as in the guy that started Beal Bank during the S&L scandal, as in Beal Aerospace, and the infamous $100,000 equation? Is this the inventor of Market Pilgrim for yahoo, myspace, google, etc?

I am not so sure that we are all aware of what that may mean, of how the deal may actually go down, considering his home location in Dallas, and its proximity to neighboring Houston, home of Humboldt’s enemy No. 1 Charles Hurwitz.

Ah Texans, the boys who invest young and sleazy, buy low/sell high really do get to eat a lot of cake.

(to read a long rant relating to this, just go down to the cited section, where I ramble freely and without positive conclusion)

I suppose Hurwitz isn’t too upset by this option, potentially foreseeing an auction of MAXXAM’s PL/ScoPac holdings because of an offer by a fellow Texan with a knack for making things go his way at strategic times.

The guy has quite a reputation around Las Vegas, among other places. According to his wikipedia site, the guy holds a record for winning the most of any player in a single day of gambling, at $11.7 million. I suppose putting on a poker face and offering $603 million probably seems like a safe bet, especially if….you figure it out.

Why might he be positioning himself at 11 p.m. the night before the confirmation hearing with a surprise $600 million cash on hand to play to get an auction? I would love to hear your predictions.

According to the Times Standard

“
Late last night, a bid came in that may provide some weight to another plan pitched by the bond holders who hold a $714 million claim against Palco subsidiary Scotia Pacific’s 210,000 acres. Attorney Bill Greendyke with Bank of New York, representing the noteholders, said a company called Scotia Redwood Foundation has made a hard offer of $603 million, substantially more than what Marathon is willing to put up for the land. He said that Marathon and Mendocino Redwood are trying to force a plan on the bond holders.

”They don’t have standing to do what they want to do,” Greendyke said.

It later became clear that Scotia Redwood Foundation is a company formed by billionaire investor Andy Beal, who owns more of the timber bonds than anyone else. Scotia Pacific attorney Richard Doren said the Bank of New York suddenly increased its estimated value of the timberlands only after Mendocino Redwood entered the case — and then had one of its own noteholders come up with a perfect bid to match.

”It is the perfect Goldilocks evaluation,” Doren said.

Hmmm.

Well, alrighty then. Unfortunately I didn’t listen to the lawyers go at it in Corpus Christi today. More to report tomorrow. I would love to hear any juicy details from folks in the room.

Rant:
Judging the crowd from yesterday’s Humboldt County Supes meeting, most people around here are pretty focused on their own back yard (literally). Its understandable!

To even survive in the atmosphere of corporate climate control, how else can we act? To what end does it serve us to mark our families and our lives to the likes of political resistance, only to be rewarded with life long legal battles, very little financial security? Where is the community forum with resources to look at the root causes for community malfunction?

The folks who turned up to participate in the front lines of the code enforcement battles can only be applauded. I just want people to take it to the next level. Im concerned that the cycle of the growing season wraps folks into patterns that cannot be denied once entered. When does the community heat press down on corporate pundits that maneuver in this county freely, like Mr. Arkley?

When do so many folks stand up against corporate giants that really are destroying the wild places, the shoreline and the bay?

When are we going to storm these back rooms, be it undercover or in a more direct way, to influence the blueprints for our future?

They seem to think that they can continue making scheme after scheme to gamble away our legacy for generations to come.
I disagree. We should fight back.

stuff that white people like

I guess its old news but I laughed out loud when I saw the Stuff that White People Like blog. I especially like the post “Full List of Stuff White People Like“.

Its hilarious.
It especially fits, because of my last entry. Excuse me while I hurl on myself! LOL

By the way someone commented that I am an issue jumper. You got that right, Extreme Issue Jumping would be more accurate, I think. (referring again to the Stuff that White People Like blog).

Laurel and Duane (two of the banner monkeys from the One World, One Free Tibet–Golden Gate Bridge action the other day) are out of jail and apparently the felony conspiracy charge has been dropped. Laurel said the sat (media ) vans were waiting for them when they got out of jail at 2 a.m.
Ongoing actions are expected today along the torch route in SF, and beyond…

Breaching the Security Bridge

Its not a secret at this point that,
“… Ironically the protest began as U.S. park police, California Highway Patrol and Golden Gate Bridge officials were meeting at nearby Fort Point to discuss security issues surrounding the Olympic torch protests this week….“–Mercury News.

At the time that Laurel, Duane and Hannah climbed up the vertical cables on the Golden Gate Bridge, these guys were trying to get a security plan together for Wednesday. That’s pretty funny guys. Wow.

My thoughts to those in charge would be: get a clue. We can’t build security through more rules, fences, and more police. We build collective security by building a shared culture based on trust and respect. The most tight security can always be permeated. A tight and accountable community provides real opportunity for public safety.

San Francisco is an amazing place in the US, because it allows for much more public participation, community expression and creative exploration than so many other urban areas. The natural beauty and liberated sex politics are only two of many reasons why so many engaged and enthusiastic young people flock here.

Please don’t rain on our parade. Don’t employ overbearing tactics of police lockdown on this great city, especially at a time when our world needs loud, clarifiying public outcry to unravel the many injustices that we face.

morning affection

This morning I woke feeling gratitude for all of the amazing people in my life who continue to stand up for what they believe in. Specifically, I was thinking of Laurel and Duane incarcerated in SF for their amazing action yesterday, (not to mention the other five folks, just don’t know them) and how I wish I could tell them what an amazing impression it left on the planet.

I can only hope that these ongoing actions can have an impact on the prospect of freedom and sovereignty for the Tibetan people. What is going on right now in their territory is horrific. I can only hope that the global majority can articulate a clear message: not only should this torch not travel through Tibet, but the Chinese occupation must end now.

Please Check out freetibet.org, to learn about what Tibetans and their supporters are saying, and what they are asking for.

************************

One World, One Dream, Free Tibet 2008

They did it!
After being on the bridge cables for more than two hours, the three amazing heroes came down. The energy still soars, though, from their historic and elegant action. We once again will be dealing with the dualing gender roles of Laurel’s mistaken identity and the butchering of Duane’s name. According to ABC Channel 7,

The protesters were identified by the group’s national director as Hannah Strange, Wayne Martinez and a woman by the name of Laurel (spellings unconfirmed).
check out this amazing interview with Laurel Sutherlin! While hanging from the bridge, he stays on message! Yo~
Feel free to send links on comments, I will embed them into this posting.:

SOLIDARITY WITH TIBET

“One World, One Dream, Free Tibet 2008″

Chronicle Staff Report

Monday, April 7, 2008

(04-07) 11:22 PDT SAN FRANCISCO — Three demonstrators scaled the south tower of the Golden Gate Bridge this morning in a protest aimed at drawing attention to Chinese human rights violations in Tibet.

The protest comes two days before the Olympic Torch makes its only North American stop in San Francisco before the games this summer in Beijing.

Alma David, a spokeswoman with the Students for a Free Tibet, said three people scaled one of the towers around 10:30 a.m., carrying a banner that reads, “One World, One Dream, Free Tibet 2008.”

The protesters unfurled the banner at 11:20 a.m.

David said authorities were climbing the tower in an attempt to force the demonstrators down. The California Highway Patrol said the far-right lane of northbound traffic on the bridge was blocked.

text story: (early)

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/07/MN6L101A0U.DTL

photos

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?f=/c/a/2008/04/07/MN6L101A0U.DTL&o=0

video

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local&id=6066082